In the past three years, 69 consumers have complained about a company that charges for forms requesting free prescriptions that are available for free from pharmaceutical manufacturers, the Better Business Bureau said Wednesday.

The Free Medicine Foundation, which has a Doniphan, Mo., address is also not a charity, despite its name, according to the Missouri secretary of state.

The Missouri attorney general’s has received 25 complaints about the company.

A Carbondale, Ill., woman sent $60 but when her doctor refused to fill out the paperwork she contacted the company for a refund. “My doctor told me he had filled out eight of these applications and each time they have been turned down,” she told the BBB. “He told me it was a waste of time. They wouldn’t answer the phone. Every time I would call it would just ring and ring.”

Cindy Randolph is listed as president of the company, which is organized under the laws of Nevada, the BBB said.

“Calling the company a foundation, while lacking charity registration with the IRS, is intentionally misleading the public about the nature of the business,” the BBB said. “This is a for-profit business that charges consumers a fee for a form which is readily available free to all consumers.”

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